


After School Special

by garconrouge



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - High School, Dan Howell and Phil Lester Are Teenagers, Hair Dyeing, M/M, Pastel Dan and Punk Phil, Promiscuity, Thunderstorms, Underage Drinking, Underage Sex, bathrooms used as plot devices, both offscreen but referenced
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 04:22:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16695361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garconrouge/pseuds/garconrouge
Summary: Dan's never liked his next door neighour. He's loud, obnoxious, and brings home too many guys. Dan's witnessed countless drunken encounters through his bedroom window- and he wishes he hadn't. But when a string of events leads to Dan playing host to a drunken Phil every night for a month, he can't help but fall for the constant slurred suggestions.





	After School Special

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in 2015, so be aware its not the best of the best. I'm also not in this fandom any more, but I wanted to post this here because it at least deserves a little attention. It was probably the first finished, longer oneshot I wrote and I'm pretty proud of it for where I was then.

Dan Howell had a unique ability; somehow, he was always able to get himself into the most embarrassing situations possible. Case in point - here he was, on a Tuesday afternoon, with his arm jammed in the bottom of a school vending machine. He'd originally reached into the small compartment in the hopes of freeing a can of Monster, which he'd been cheated of- he'd payed for the drink out of his own pocket, and the machine had decided to keep it for itself. The can had started to fall, only to get caught between the rotating shelves and the glass door of the machine. Putting his arm inside seemed the logical thing to do. There was only one flaw in Dan's  plan, however- his arm was too large to fit inside the tiny slot through which the drink was supposed to fall. And so here he was, trapped by his own lust for caffeine.

Slowly, a crowd began to form around the vending machine. His fellow pupils had gathered around to laugh at the idiot who had somehow gotten his arm stuck while chasing after snacks. Dan could feel the red rising onto his cheeks and he wondered how long it would take him to live down this embarrassment. Although Dan wasn't hated by his peers, he also wasn't exactly the most popular kid at school. He was fairly unremarkable and unknown, and so the only events from which he could be recognised by the people at his school were the ones in which he'd ended up flustered and wanting the ground to swallow him whole.

He felt someone crouch down beside him, their heat radiating away from their body and landing on Dan's exposed arm- goosebumps forming almost instantly. He looked up at the stranger, and found himself face to face with an unlikely aid.

He wasn't sure he knew him, but his black and blue hair screamed familiarity. He tried to shake the thought, but it wouldn't rest.

"You okay there, mate?" the boy said, absent-mindedly blowing his blue fringe out of his eyes, and placing a hand on Dan's back.

Startled, Dan choked out an answer.

"Uh- y-yeah, I'm fine, I just-"

"Well, it looks like your arm's stuck," the boy chuckled, his laugh brightening his whole complexion, "D'you want some help with that?"

"Oh, yeah, please." Dan laughed, tugging at his arm to prove to the boy that it was well and truly stuck.

The boy started digging in his backpack, as if any of the school supplies in there would be of any use in freeing him. To Dan's embarrassment, he lifted out a small bottle of lube, and showed it to him.

"You can't use that!" Dan hissed, looking around him wildly. Since the boy had crouched down next to him, it seemed that everyone else had lost interest, assuming that the show was now over and that they could no longer gain entertainment from watching the struggling boy.

"Oh, should I just leave you here then?" The stranger asked cockily, slowly standing up from where he had perched himself on the floor.

"No! Please, I just..." Dan exclaimed, attempting to wave the arm which was still stuck in the machine. Due to the fact that the arm had not moved when he had expected it to, he toppled over on to the floor, his arm now extended at an awkward angle away from his body.

"Well then, now you are definitely stuck." the boy laughed, before crouching back down into his former position. "Stay on the floor, it'll be easier to free you this way."

"Somehow, honestly, I don't think a high school floor is the most sanitary place to be laid down, but whatever." Dan laughed sarcastically, inhaling sharply as the boy placed some of the cold lube around his elbow. He didn't even want to think about the possible reasons for this stranger carrying around a bottle of lube- he certainly couldn't have packed it on the off chance he found someone stuck in a vending machine.

Soon, Dan was free and thanking the stranger. He was just about to ask his name, when the boy apologised quickly and ran to the other end of the hall, slowing when he reached a large group of boys who were dressed in similar attire to him. Shrugging and abandoning his drink, Dan decided he should probably find the best way to rid his now-tingling elbow of the lube before his next class started.

On his way to the nearest bathroom, Dan quite literally bumped into his best friend, Erin.

"Dan, where on earth have you been? You said you'd meet me at the courts twenty minutes ago, and you never turned up! I was worried sick, you know how I get! Do you realise how-"

"Relax." Dan cut her off, extending his arm towards her and showing her his elbow, red and marked from where it had been pressed into the machine, but also still covered in the thick lube. She laughed at the sight, running her finger over the marks.

"Why the hell have you got lube all over your arm? What on earth have you been doing? No, even better -  _who_  on earth have you been doing?" she snorted, dragging him into the girl's toilets and shoving his arm under a running tap.

"Well, I got my arm stuck in the vending machine."

"Again?" she interrupted, rolling her eyes at his misfortune.

He nodded, hanging his head in embarrassment, "And while I was stuck in this vending machine, some guy came along and poured lube all over my arm to get me free. God knows why he had it with him, but it was cold and unpleasant, and now my arm itches. Not an experience I'd wish to relive."

"Lube in his  _bag_? It was probably Lester from the year above." she aired as she rubbed at Dan's arm, as if that was any semblance of help towards his plight.

"Who on earth is Lester?" Dan queried, looking up at Erin in confusion.

"Are you kidding me?" she guffawed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand to prevent herself from laughing loudly and alerting others to their conversation. "He's your next door neighbour, you've lived beside him for five years, and you seriously don't know who he is?"

Dan sighed, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Honestly, I don't remember. I don't pay much attention to our neighbours, they never interested me, and I was too busy trying to prise my hand out of a vending machine to distinguish who was helping me free it. Besides, you know what the guy next door to me is like, bringing all those guys home."

Erin hit him lightly on the shoulder before turning the tap off and handing him a wad of paper towels.

"Honestly," she sighed, "you are such an idiot."

"Ah," Dan replied, fake wisdom lining his voice, "but you would not love me any other way."

"Oh, shut up. But don't get yourself involved with Lester, he's nothing but trouble." she laughed, walking out of the bathroom and obviously expecting Dan to follow. He grabbed his backpack from the dusty bathroom floor, before swinging it over his shoulder and running to catch up with his friend as the lesson bell rang through his ears.

"You realise I am deathly lucky that nobody else, especially a teacher, walked into that bathroom while I was in there, right?" he expressed obviously, catching up with Erin and slowing his pace to match hers as they both walked into their English classroom.

"Nobody cares Dan, they know you're gay from a mile away," she stated simply, waving her hands in the air, "girls can smell it, and besides, you don't exactly hide your sexuality."

"Oh," Dan gulped, scratching at the stitching of his backpack strap "if you say so."

They sat in the right corner of the back of the classroom, as they always did, and silence fell across the now-full room as their teacher entered. Wordlessly, he began to walk down the rows of desks, checking that they had each brought in the homework that'd been set the week before.

Erin pulled hers from the depths of her messenger bag, and Dan began to panic, struggling to find his essay regarding the character of Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men. He knew for certain he had written it, but it was just his luck that he'd forgotten to stuff it into his bag during the rush that morning.

His teacher, Mr. Laney, strode over to their desk expectantly, and sighed when he saw the empty space in front of Dan.

"Mr. Howell, may I ask why your homework is not in front of you?"

"I have done it, Mr Laney, it's just-"

"Oh! Excuse my misunderstanding, please! Your homework is invisible, am I right? Well, am I glad that you have access to such technological advances. Journal, please."

Dan sighed as he handed his journal over to the teacher. He hated this. Why couldn't he just be like everyone else? How come everyone else has the ability to do their homework on time, and to bring it in when they needed to, but he simply couldn't? His life sucked, he decided.

"Mr. Howell, you will serve detention after school tonight to make up for your lack of homework. And bring the work tomorrow, if you please."

Erin looked at him with disappointment as his teacher passed his journal back to him, but he avoided her gaze.

-

Soon enough, the end of the day rolled around. Dan hugged Erin goodbye at the school gates, and made his way once again towards the English classroom, kicking the dirt under his feet as he went.

"Ah, Mr. Howell, glad to see you have joined us." Mr Laney said as Dan walked into his classroom. He soon figured out who "us" consisted of - the boy from earlier that morning was sat near the back of the room, feet resting on the table in front of him. Dan sat in the middle of the room, not wanting to sit close to the stranger, but also not wanting to seem eager to sit at the front of the room.

"Right, boys, I have to go photocopy some test papers. I'm trusting you. Neither of you leave this room, okay? Especially  _you_ , Lester."

Lester. Wasn't that the name Erin had said earlier? Dan wondered whether she was right, and pondered the possibility that the boy who had smeared lube on his arm to free him from a vending machine was also the same boy who brought drunk guys home almost nightly -  _not_ that Dan had ever found himself gazing over the gap between their houses and into the other boy's room.

He felt a scrunched up piece of paper hitting him in the back of the head, pulling him out of his thoughts by force. He turned around, and saw a smug grin pulling at the corners of the boy's mouth, snakebites pushing up out of his skin over his teeth.

"Yo." he said, raising his eyebrows slightly. Dan's eyes ran across the black tattoo spanning the length of the right side of the boy's neck. From what he could make out, it was some form of dragon. Dan tugged at the ends of his sweater, the pale X's running down the sleeves contrasting against the light purple surrounding them.

"What's wrong, pastel goth?" the boy asked, taking his legs down from the table."Cat got your tongue? Or should I say dragon?" he ran his fingers over his tattoo, smirking at Dan knowingly. "I'm Phil, by the way, Phil Lester."

"N-no, I'm fine. I'm Dan, and thanks for the help earlier. I don't know how long I would have been stuck there if you hadn't helped me get out, even if, uh, I think I'm allergic to that lube." he stumbled, scratching at his elbow. It had been itching since the incident, and he suspected that Phil's lube was to blame.

"Oh damn, pina colada? That's my favourite, it's a shame." Phil winked, shuffling in his seat. "Dan's a cute name, but I think I'll stick with pastel goth for now, seeing as you're so adorable in that sweater."

Dan could feel the red rising to his cheeks, and he watched as Phil rose from his seat.

"You coming? I'm skipping." Phil laughed, opening the door to lead the way for Dan.

"No thanks, I'd probably just get in even more trouble." Dan sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, but that's half the fun! Whatever you say,  _pastel goth_ _._ " Phil joked, before running out of the door.

It wasn't long until his teacher returned, and sighed as he noticed that Phil's seat was empty.

"Did Lester leave?" he asked, sitting in the seat behind his desk.

"He, uh... he said he needed the bathroom." Dan lied, playing with the ends of his sleeves.

"You don't need to cover for him, Daniel, he's bad news. Also, you're very bad at lying." Mr Laney said, scribbling off something in his notebook.

A few moments later, it seemed as if the heavens had suddenly opened over them. Loud claps of thunder shook the building, and rain poured down the windows. Dan began to wonder where Phil was. He couldn't have possibly stayed out in the rain, but at the same time, he knew he was incredibly unlikely to return to the classroom and face the immediate punishment he would likely receive.

"Daniel, although it is time for you to leave now, it's raining quite heavily out there... how are you planning on getting home?" his teacher asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Oh, I've got my car, I'm okay." Dan rushed as he hurried to leave his seat. The sooner he was out of this hell hole, the better. He didn't give a crap about the rain.

Tugging the sleeves of his sweater down over his previously exposed arms, Dan ducked his head to protect his face from the downpour as he ran to his car. When he finally reached the warm vehicle, he was surprised to see a huddled figure sleeping in the backseat. He got into the front seat quickly, before turning around to face the invader.

"Excuse me?" he said, clearing his throat to gain the attention of the mass in his back seat. They looked up, and Dan was once again face to face with a now soaking wet Phil Lester.

"H-hi." Phil grinned, shuffling on the upholstery.

"Okay, how the fuck did you get in my car?" Dan spat. He wasn't normally such an offensive person, but it was dumbfounding that this almost stranger had decided that the best place to hide while skipping detention was Dan's car.

"This is your car? Huh." he said with a hint of confusion in his voice. "I didn't realise you were old enough to drive. How old are you?"

"I'm in the year below you, Lester." Dan sighed, using the boys last name, as he did not particularly want to get friendly with the boy whose drunken encounters he had had a sober view into. "Now, again, why and how the hell are you in my car?"

"Oh, well, uh, I got scared of the storm, and, uh, your car was unlocked-" Phil stumbled, fidgeting with his thumbs. Dan laughed at the first half of his sentence, while also cursing himself for not locking his car doors. Anyone could've gotten in. Hell, anyone did.

"You, dragon tattoo and blue fringe Lester, got scared of a storm?"

"Punks get scared of thunderstorms too!" he protested, his posture not all dissimilar to that of a five year old's.

"Whatever you say," Dan chuckled, "put on your seat belt, I'll take you home."

"But you don't know where I live." Phil said as he clicked the buckle into place.

"You live next door to me. You have for five years."

Phil looked at him as if he had just announced he was his stalker, before asking, "Which side?"

Dan thought for a moment as he started up the car and pulled out of the school parking lot, before replying with,

"Uh, left. Our garages are beside each others".

Phil looked at Dan strangely once again.

"It's you!" he announced, grabbing on to the back of Dan's seat. "You're the kid who watches me through our bedroom windows!"

Dan scoffed. "I do not watch you. I merely happen to notice when you come home drunk at midnight with a random guy from a bar. How on earth do you get any homework done?"

"I don't." Phil laughed, before resting his back on his own seat once again.

They were both silent for the rest of the drive home. Dan pulled into the driveway of his own house, and they both exited the car just as the storm cleared.

"Uh, thanks." Phil said, clearing his throat, "For driving me home, I mean. I would've hated being stuck outside in the storm."

"It's okay." Dan reassured him, walking over to his own house. "I guess I'll see you at school, Lester."

"See you around, pastel goth." Phil chuckled, entering his house quickly and shutting his door behind him before Dan could yet again protest against the stupid nickname.

-

It was 1am, and once again Dan couldn't sleep. He'd spent the hours he was at home texting Erin to tell her about the days' encounters with Phil, and she was excited to know that he was terrified of the storm. Sometimes, Dan questioned whether or not Erin was completely sane.

He was about to close the book he was reading and attempt once more to sleep before he heard a tap on his window. He presumed it was a pigeon dropping a stone while flying, but then there was another tap, and another. He looked over at the window, and saw Phil crouched on his garage roof, wearing nothing but a black "parental advisory" sweater and a pair of skull and crossbones boxers, swaying slightly. He was drunk, as per usual. Dan opened the window to ask him what he wanted, but as he did Phil pushed past him, sliding through and dropping softly onto Dan's carpet, still shaking from the post-storm chill outside.

"What do you want, Lester? It's one in the morning. Go the fuck to sleep." Dan groaned, trying to usher Phil back out onto the ledge outside his window.

"Hah, I...can't..." Phil slurred, grinning goofily. Dan recoiled slightly at the stench of alcohol that emanated off of his breath.

"And why is that, pray tell?" Dan sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"My... uh... mum, she locked me out... because..." he hiccuped mid-sentence, before giggling.

"Because...?" Dan prompted, eager to get the boy out of his bedroom.

"Oh yeah, uhm, because, uhh...drunk." he said confidently, as if he was dead certain that his grammar was perfect.

"Because drunk." Dan said, exasperated. He had definitely had enough of seeing Phil Lester for one day, but he figured that he couldn't leave him outside at night, especially while he was intoxicated.

He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled down the purple sleeping bag from on top of it, handing it to Phil.

"Look, it probably stinks of girl, because it's only ever been used by my friend Erin, but it's the best I've got. You can stay here tonight, but you need to be gone by the morning, okay?" Dan had surrendered. As long as Phil didn't try to climb into his bed or murder him in the middle of the night, Dan guessed that it could do no harm to let him stay in his room for one night.

Because it would only be one night, right?

It was this assumption that was Dan's downfall. He didn't expect Phil's mum to lock him out once again the next night. He hadn't expected that every night for the next four weeks, Phil would be coming into his room to sleep on his bedroom floor. He hadn't expected that he would begin to turn down Erin's requests for sleepovers, because he knew that she would ask why her sleeping bag stunk of vodka.

It was because of this that Erin confronted him one Sunday afternoon, four weeks after that first night, over their fish and chips.

"So, tell me, what's going on with you recently? You never seem to want to do anything on a night time any more. You haven't texted me after midnight in forever! I miss staying up with you." She said, looking at him knowingly.

"There's nothing, Erin, trust me." he lied, hoping she'd believe him.

"Dan, you've never been good at lying. Cut it out and tell me. Is it something to do with Lester? He's been making sex eyes at you since that Tuesday," she stated matter-of-factly.

Dan almost choked on his Monster.

"W-what?" he spluttered, placing the can down and wiping at his mouth with the sleeve of his sweater. A sweater which, he realised, actually belonged to Phil, and was the one he had worn that first night. He must've left it at his house before disappearing one night. Dan wished he hadn't originally told Phil to be gone by the morning - he longed for the chance that just once he could wake up to see that boy sleeping on his floor.

"You heard me!" she laughed, impaling a couple of chips on her fork before eating them. "And you're totally wearing his sweater. I think this is the first time I've seen you wearing black."

Dan blushed, ducking his head down and continuing to eat silently.

"Seriously, though, you gotta tell me what's going on." Erin pursued, looking deep into Dan's eyes. "I'm kinda worried, you've never turned down an offer for a sleepover before. Are you fucking him? You can tell me, you know I won't freak."

Dan stabbed his polystyrene tray in defeat. "Okay," he breathed, "Lester's been sleeping in my room for the past few weeks, his mum locks him out because he gets drunk."

As soon as Dan had finished his sentence, Erin's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"Oh my god..." she whispered, "you have to tell me everything."

"There's nothing to tell!" Dan said truthfully, "He just sleeps on my floor in the sleeping bag."

"My sleeping bag? Ew, remind me to wash it next time I sleep at yours." she joked, teasing Dan with her grin. "You so like him though, admit it."

Dan rolled his eyes, he knew that she would try to turn this conversation into one about his love life, as she always did. Erin was adamant that if she had a gay best friend, then he would at least have to date one guy at some point. Dan had reminded her that he isn't a handbag dog, but he knew her intentions were good.

"I don't like him like that, I think he's a bit of a douche, really. Plus, most of my encounters with him were ones in which he was drunk, and slightly perverted. Not so pleasant, really."

Dan remembered one particular night which had stuck in his head since its occurrence. They had a biology test the next day, and so Dan was staying up even later than usual to study, textbooks spread haphazardly on his bed.

Phil, while sipping the water he had been given to sober him up, had decided that he didn't like Dan studying. He stood up slowly, and walked from beneath the windowsill over to Dan's bed.

"You know," he had slurred, gripping onto the headboard for support, "we should fuck."

Dan spluttered, closing one of his textbooks and looking up at Phil, amused at his drunken suggestion.

"And why should we do that? I mean, you barely know me" he laughed.

"I know you well, pastel goth. Down to a T." at this point Dan doubted the smirk on Phil's face could become any sleazier.

"I don't think so" he sighed, going back to his textbooks.

Phil, frustrated at losing his attention, inched his face closer to Dan's neck, now so close that his breath hit his shoulders and rolled down his back.

"I know that you hum when you read," he began, feeling Dan shiver beside him. "I know that when you're trying to explain something, you always say 'I just' and then give up. When you're nervous, you don't finish your sentences, and sometimes you stutter, but from what I've seen, that's just for me. You can never decide whether you want your sweater sleeves rolled up past your elbows or pulled down over your fingers. You said that sleeping bag belonged to a girl but I've only ever seen you with her at school since I met you, and your breath is always tainted by the apple smell of that stupid energy drink. It makes me wonder if it would still smell just as sweet mixed with vodka. I know you, pastel goth."

Dan merely told him to shut up and go to sleep, shoved him away, and returned to his studying.

-

The night after Erin had confronted him, Dan was sat on the ledge outside of his window with the book he was supposed to be reading for his English class,  _An Inspector Calls_. As summer was fast approaching, the chill northern air had been replaced with a slight humidity. Nevertheless, Dan was wrapped in his duvet reading, occasionally glancing up at Phil's window to see whether or not he was back yet. He was waiting for him, mainly because he wanted to return Phil's sweater, but also partly because he had begun to look forward to their nightly routine.

He admired the layout between the two houses. Both he and Phil had garages which were attached to their homes, meaning that they had a small area of accessible flat roof each. Their bedroom windows were both facing each others, and they both opened outwards, giving them the ability to climb onto their own space, which acted much like a balcony without the fencing. The space between their garages was only around fifteen centimeters wide, and so it was easy to simply step from one roof to the other. It was all relative and coincidental, and Dan loved it.

He wondered how long he had been sat there before the light in Phil's room turned on. He shuffled a bit, glancing up, but what he saw felt like a punch to the gut - Phil was stumbling backwards into his room, followed by some purple-haired stranger. They were kissing sloppily, both obviously ridiculously drunk. Phil quickly turned the light off, and Dan assumed he had not been the one to turn it on. Nevertheless, a knot of jealousy tightened in Dan's stomach. He wrenched open his window, and carelessly threw himself back into his room, not caring if he woke up or angered his family. He dragged his duvet over to the bed, and lay there huddled up for what felt like an infinity. He didn't even notice the tears slipping down his cheeks.

What the fuck was wrong with him? Why was this affecting him so much? He couldn't count the times that he'd seen Phil through the windows making out with random older guys, so why was he suddenly so hurt? Why was he craving the stranger nights, the times Phil would whisper drunken suggestions, why was he regretting the times he'd rejected him?

Dan knew why, but he didn't want to accept what could possibly be true. He didn't want to think about that, and so he shoved it into the back of his mind. Without anything else occupying his thoughts, however, it slipped back. His thoughts turned into tears as he laid there. His body ached, and his limbs were stiff, but he thought that maybe, just maybe, if he laid there long enough, he'd cease to exist.

He was so possessed in his own thoughts that he hadn't realised he left the window open.

He heard feet hitting his bedroom floor, but refused to turn to look.  _If you ignore him, he'll leave_ , Dan thought, willing the older boy to climb straight back out of the window and into his own room. He knew his mother hadn't locked him out this time, so what was the point in coming in and bothering Dan like this?

"Pastel goth?" he heard Phil whisper, walking over to his bed. "Are you awake?"

Dan merely stared at the wall, refusing to look at Phil, or to reply to him.

"I know you're not asleep. Stop being an asshole, I haven't done anything"

With that, Dan sat up, his hair wild and messy, eyes raw red from crying.

"I don't know Lester, haven't you?" Dan spat, glaring at the disheveled, post-coitus Phil standing dumbfounded in his bedroom.

"I, what? Pastel goth-" he started, confused.

"Just leave!" he shouted, throwing Phil's sweater at him and not caring if his family could hear, "Take your shit, and go! And  _my name is Dan!_ "

Phil looked hurt, but picked up his sweater from where it had fallen on the floor, exiting through the window once more, and closing it slowly behind him.

Dan screamed into his pillow. Why couldn't life just go right for him, just once? He didn't need this.

He decided he would no longer let Phil stay in his room on nights.

The next day, Dan was back at school. He was hoping not to bump into Phil during the day, and so far, he had been lucky. He was sat in a cloakroom with Erin, and he was telling her about the events of that night.

"Oh, Dan," she comforted, wrapping him in a hug. "I tried to warn you he's trouble that first day, didn't I? And you said Mr. Laney said so too. He's bad news, don't get tied up in him."

Dan shook his head, refusing to be beaten by this boy, "I'm just gonna... act like it never happened. Like, the past month was a dream, or something. I don't know him!" he decided, nodding his head slightly at his own plan. Erin was about to reply in her usual manner, but was interrupted by the sight neither of them wanted to see.

Phil was rounding the corner, surrounded by his posse of friends. Dan expected them all to pass by without noticing them, but to his surprise, Phil's friends all crowded around Erin, and Phil grabbed Dan's arm, and dragged him away from her.

Dan was having to almost jog to keep up with Phil's brisk pace and prevent himself from being dragged across the floor by him. They took several sharp turns, and eventually they came to the bathroom that nobody ever used - he was ensuring that they wouldn't be disturbed. Dan was slightly scared by that prospect.

Shoving Dan into the room, Phil cornered him at the far end, between the sinks and a wall.

"What the fuck was that?" he asked, looking down at Dan as if he thought less of him than he did the dirt on his shoe.

"What the hell do you mean?" Dan snapped, trying to shove Phil's shoulder so that he could escape.

"You, yelling at me last night as if you were my wife catching me fucking some whore!" Phil spat, "What the fuck is wrong with you, you dick?"

"I can't tell you because you'd hate me more than you already do." Dan mumbled, before attempting to run away once again. He failed, and Phil squared up to him once again, looming over him intimidatingly.

"Tell me." Phil muttered, placing one hand on Dan's shoulder.

"I saw you making out with that guy," Dan gulped, "and I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand the thought of you being with someone other than me."

Phil chuckled, before moving his hand up and playing with the bottom of Dan's hair, near the back of his neck.

"You are an idiot." he breathed, smiling at Dan and relaxing his posture.

"What?" Dan looked up at him confusedly, before being cut off by Phil leaning down and beginning to kiss his neck.

"Did you really think," he began, speaking between kisses, "that I would have helped you that first day... if I hadn't thought that you were cute? Did you really think... I didn't recognise the car that sits outside my house every day? And did you really... think... that I couldn't still get into my room... if my mum had locked me out? Or that I wouldn't... go back to the bar... go home with a random guy?... I did it all to get  _you_ , pastel goth..."

Dan was leaning in to the kisses, breathing heavily as Phil spoke.

"But... what about that guy?" Dan asked, wrapping his arms around Phil's neck to keep him close.

"I was giving up... thought you didn't care... didn't want me... didn't mean to hurt you-"

The lesson bell rang, and Phil pulled away from Dan's neck, taking his arms down from his shoulders and linking their hands together.

"Come with me... we're skipping." he grinned, running out of the bathroom and once again dragging Dan behind him.

Phil took them both to Dan's car, before asking for the keys. He drove them both to an unfamiliar building, and Dan's breath caught as he walked inside, hand still linked with Phil's.

The first room of the building seemed to be a hair salon, but it definitely had the twist of Phil's character in it- there was rock music playing through overhead speakers, the walls had posters of band members in the place of wallpaper, and a green-haired girl was sat on top of a counter in the corner of the room, snapping her bubble gum as she watched the pair.

"Dan, do you remember that night you told me you wanted to dye your hair, but you don't have the money?" Phil asked, leaning on his heels in excitement.

"But... you were drunk! How on earth do you remember?" Dan asked, looking shocked.

"I remember a lot." Phil said succinctly, pushing Dan slightly over to the green haired girl.

"So, what colour do you want?" she said, eyeing his dark brown hair. "We're most likely going to have to bleach it, that okay?" She moved over towards Dan, and started moving his hair with her fingers, as if checking that it was really brown.

"Uh, y-yeah. Can I have it blue, please? Like violet blue?" he stuttered, moving over to the seat he was being ushered towards. Phil could see he was nervous, and walked over beside him, grabbing his hand once again to comfort him.

"Relax, it's fine," he said, "Ella hasn't burnt off anyone's scalp so far, I doubt she's going to start now."

The green haired girl laughed, and began collecting the things necessary to dye Dan's hair.

He wasn't scared when the bleach actually went on, however he was slightly annoyed that it hurt his scalp. While he didn't expect a painless experience, he didn't realise it would feel like his scalp was melting.

Ella tugged at his head several times as she was layering the cold blue dye onto his hair, and Phil snapped several photos of him, proclaiming that he was being turned into a smurf.

When the excess dye had been washed off, Phil could not get over how different Dan looked with blue hair. Even hours later, when they were lying on their backs, stargazing in the field near their houses, he was still distracted by the beauty that was the boy beside him.

"You're so pretty, pastel goth..." he breathed, their cheeks leaning together from the way they were laid. Dan grinned from the compliment, once again feeling the heat rise to his face as he blushed.

Instinctively, they turned onto their sides to face each other, albeit upside down. Dan looked up at Phil, and slowly breathed,

"At the risk of sounding cliché, what is this? What are  _we_?" he breathed, referring to themselves, the weeks they'd spent together, and the recent bathroom encounter. Phil sat up slowly, and Dan did the same.

"I'm not sure," Phil sighed, "but one thing I do know," he said, while reaching up to Dan's cheek, rubbing circles onto the side of his face slowly with his thumb, "is that when I look at you, all I want to do is kiss you."

"So," Dan gulped, thankful that these thoughts were being spoken by a sober Phil, and were not the drunken suggestions he had been accustomed to, "why don't you?"

Phil placed his other hand on the opposite side of Dan's face, and for a second they lost themselves in each other's eyes. Gently, Phil leaned in and pressed their lips together.

Dan was overwhelmed by the cluster of emotions and feelings rushing to his brain simultaneously. He could feel each indent on Phil's lips, remembering how he had found out that the dark boy chewed on his lower lip when he was nervous. Phil's snakebites were pressing against Dan's skin, but he didn't care. His back hit the dry grass as they both gently fell down together, Phil straddling Dan as they kissed.

"Be mine." Phil moaned into Dan's lips, breaking the kiss and leaning their foreheads together.

Dan smirked, before replying in a mumble,

"I already am."

Their lips crashed together again, the spark of passion reigniting between them.

"I'm still mad at you for fucking him, Lester," Dan breathed, "you damn tease,"

"It's true," Phil giggled into Dan's lips, "I knew you were there"

"Asshole," Dan chuckled, his hands running up into Phil's hair.

"Shut up and kiss me."

" _Hey, lovebirds!_ "

They both jumped at the yell, Phil quickly scuttling off from on top of Dan and standing up, dusting off his jeans. Dan sat up, and saw Erin stood there, phone propped in front of her.

"Were you  _filming_  us?" he asked, disbelief flooding through in his voice as he stood up next to Phil.

"My mum won't believe me otherwise!" she squealed, running over and hugging Dan, before whispering an " _I fucking knew it_ " in his ear.

"So," Erin stated as she pulled away, feigning ignorance, "who's he, Dan?"

"This is... uh," Dan looked over at Phil for encouragement, and upon seeing him nod, he linked their hands and proclaimed, "this is my boyfriend, Phil."

 


End file.
